World War 2 hero who helped liberate Norway celebrates 100th birthday

Courtenay and Masha yesterday with cards from the Queen and Norway’s king (Image: Masha Llloyd /SWNS.COM)

A MODEST war hero turned 100 yesterday with salutes from two royal families for an astounding life that sounds like a film script. Former Navy officer Charles Courtenay Lloyd can look back on an incredible career in which he helped liberate a country, trained Cold War spies and mastered 10 languages. He was also once presented with a medal by a foreign king, married a princess and went on to inspire thousands of schoolchildren as a teacher.

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Yet the unassuming son of a clergyman, who celebrated his birthday at his home in Spain with his family, has never boasted of his achievements.

And when asked about his life he replied simply: "I've had quite an enjoyable one."

The centenarian, known to all as Courtenay, was born in Staffordshire in 1919 to Rev Canon John Collins Lloyd and accomplished pianist Dorothy Gertrude Scull.

In 1928 his family moved to a new parish in Bristol and he attended Clifton College with younger brother Raymond, who later died of polio. A school report from 1935 described Courtenay as "perfectly reliable" and good at Latin but "dreamy".

Despite the Great Depression he landed a job through one of his father's parishioners at the Imperial Tobacco Company in Bristol.

His duties included having to collect international news items about the company, a role that sparked his passion for languages and geography. He took night classes and earned a place at Selwyn College, Cambridge, but his studies were halted by war.

In 1940 he joined the Navy and rose from ordinary seaman to lieutenant, spending part of the war in Scotland.

Then a ship he was serving aboard was sent to Norway to help free that country from the Nazis. Not only did Courtenay learn to speak Norwegian, but for his outstanding services during the liberation he was awarded the Liberty Medal by King Haakon VII.

The hero as a ‘dreamy’ schoolboy in the 1930s (Image: Masha Lloyd /SWNS.COM)

He was stationed in Oslo to help supervise the surrender of German forces and in 1946 he became an intelligence officer in the British-occupied zone of Germany. There he was involved in dismantling the Nazi regime and catching war criminals.

After the war he went back to Cambridge to complete his degree and became a Russian teacher with the Joint Services School of Languages, regarded as a "spy school" by the KGB during the ColdWar.

It was during these courses that he met and fell in love with Princess Elena Von Lieven, a penniless Russian princess whom he married in 1953. The couple went on to have two children, George and Masha.

Courtenay holds the distinction of being his college's oldest living graduate and retains his fluency in Norwegian, Russian, French, German and Spanish. He can also make himself understood in Danish, Swedish, Dutch, Finnish and Icelandic. His birthday celebrations in Madrid were marked by a card from the Queen and a signed personal message of gratitude from King Harald V of Norway, King Haakon's grandson.

There were also tributes from the Royal Naval Association and Bradford Grammar School, where he was a formidable presence until his retirement in 1983. Many ex-pupils have contacted him to thank him for influencing them, with one telling him gratefully: "You made my life."

After the deaths of his wife and son, Courtenay moved to Madrid to live with daughter Masha and her family.

Masha said: "It's been a great joy to spend time listening to his memories and hearing from those he had a great impact on during his time as a teacher.

"Not only that, he fought for his country and dedicated so much of his life to the peace and unity of Europe, all of which deserves to be remembered.

“He is very modest and doesn't think he's done anything particularly remarkable, so this is our opportunity to remind him of the amazingly significant things he has both seen and been a part of.

"I truly see him as an unknown hero.We are incredibly proud of all he has achieved."

The family are planning a party at which he will be presented with his biography, a framed family tree, a book on his ancestors, an original copy of The Times dated May 1, 1919 - and a huge hamper of chocolate.